Parents' Visit: Around Biel (8/1-3/1983)

Monday, August 1, 1983

Found a four-leaf clover on the way to Ried, which is surprising since most of the clover has dried up and died.

Four-leaf clover

I felt kind of light-headed all day and had very little energy. I asked Jan B to see my 16:00 patient so that I could go lie down. Later I packed up some things and left for the train station. Being the Swiss Independence Day, I could hear firecrackers being set off here and there. I checked my canvas bag and two plastic bags in a locker, and went to sit at the platform to wait for my parents. I checked the schedule and saw there was a 20:27 train from Basel at track 3. I thought they were to come in at 20:26, and figured they were off by a minute. But after a few minutes it dawned on me that I was at the track for the train departing for Basel at 20:27, and I had to go to track 5 for the 20:26 arriving from Basel! There was an announcement that the train to Genève (from Basel) was going to be 25 minutes late, and I got a little anxious just having to wait longer. But the train arrived at 20:35. I had checked the board to see that First Class was at the end of the train, but as it came in I saw it was at the head. So I had to run nearly the length of the train. And there were my mom and dad getting off! I ran to greet them and then we went to retrieve my bags out of the locker. We walked over to Wyttenbachstrasse to the Club Hotel, where they checked in to room 306. They unpacked loads of things for me, like towels, shampoo, vanilla extract, snacks, junk mail, etc. I gave them juice and cookies, and film. We went to eat at the Urania tearoom where at this late hour we could choose from the cold menu. Mom and Dad had the Wurstsalat (cervelat with tomatoes, onions, egg, and cucumber in a sauce over lettuce). Dad had a Coca Cola and Mom and I had Sprite Light. As they ate, you could see the fireworks up between the buildings toward the lake, which lasted about 15 minutes around 22:00. We paid the bill of 24 CHF/$12, and walked toward the lake against the crowd of people leaving after the fireworks! There were lots of people and a terrific traffic jam. At the lake, people were setting off firecracker rockets that were whizzing all over the place. Quite the inferno! We went to the docks to see the lighted boats coming in. Then we returned to the hotel to plan for the next few days. This will be a different kind of trip, with urban and mass transportation being the themes, along with a little bit of touristy stuff as an aside!

Tuesday, August 2, 1983

I left my parents’ hotel at 00:15, and back at the Personalhaus/staff residence I started putting away all my new goodies, then went to bed.

Went to work and again lacked energy. Marsha C brought her lunch to eat with me at 12:15. Then back to work. Mom and Dad were to come at 16:30, and they were a little late which gave me time to write up my notes.
They had ridden on the Biel Leubringen funicular.

Biel/Bienne Leubringen/Evilard Funicular station (GJT)

Funicular tunnel (GJT)

Funicular cars at Beaumont (GJT)

Funicular car (GT)

I saw them pass my therapy room window, and went to meet them at the door of the hospital. We went up to my room in the Personalhaus/staff residence. It had drizzled a bit today and was overcast. The heat wave was broken! We saw the hazy view from my window, then left to take the shortcut down past the Catholic church to Dufourstrasse to catch the #1 trolleybus that took us to Nidau.

Mom and Tamiko on the shortcut (GJT)

At the the end loop we found our way to the Aare River to look back at the bridge where the Biel-Täuffelen-Ins/BTI train crosses. Very soon a train came across and Dad took his photo.

BTI train on Zihlstrasse bridge in Nidau (GJT)

Mom and I went to Coop to buy drinks for them to keep at the hotel while Dad waited for a train in the other direction. Then we walked along the tracks toward Biel for more pictures.

Bikers watch out for the tracks! (GJT)

We returned to the hotel and decided to eat in the hotel restaurant. We thought about sitting outside, but it was too breezy and cool! Even inside it was cool because the sliding doors were open. To drink, Dad had milk and Mom tried the coffee. Mom had a salad the waiter made up from the salad bar with lettuce, chopped carrots, chopped beets, cucumbers, green peppers, celery, in an oil and vinegar dressing, which I helped her to eat. Then she had a shish kebab cooked outside on the grill. Dad had Geschnetzeltes veal with Rösti, and I had a croûte de fromage with a fried egg (toast with a piece of ham and melted cheese with a cooked egg on top. Mom paid the 40 CHF/$20 bill and we went upstairs to figure out our schedules.

Wednesday, August 3, 1983

I was to go to the Ss today after work, but Brigitte called to cancel; a friend was visiting. It was just as well, because I would have cancelled. I had received a phone call saying my ticket to India was okayed, so I went downtown to put down a deposit. I also tried to call the hotel in Torino, left stamps at the hotel for my parents, and did some grocery shopping. I missed aerobics, but had to make a tuna-macaroni salad. Busy, busy!
My parents went to Basel today.